SAN MARCOS, CA–San Marcos is excited to announce that it will be holding its second annual Student Film Festival at the Civic Center Plaza on June 26th, 2010 beginning at 8pm. This event will showcase talented student filmmakers from all over North County, encompassing grade school, high school and college students and viewing is free to the public. Submissions are being accepted online at www.SMFilmFest.com between now and June 18th, for a nominal $5 submission fee.
Entries will be judged by a panel of local film, media, and education figures, including: Greg Evans (creator of the comic Luann and a member of the San Marcos Arts Council), Dr. Meryl Goldberg (Professor of Visual and Performing Arts at CSUSM and Executive Director of “Center ARTES”), Dan Bennet (film critic for the North County Times), Jacob Angelo and Nick Zynda (local filmmakers and programming directors for the San Marcos Civic Center Screen). San Marcos is in a unique position to host this festival as it has two colleges with full fledged and award winning film, television and multimedia departments (Palomar College and California State University San Marcos). Additionally the city is home to both High Tech High School and a High Tech Middle School which focus on multimedia and technology driven students. San Marcos borders Oceanside, CA which is home to Mira Costa College as well as Escondido, CA which hosts a yearly “Escondido Youth Media Festival”.
The “San Marcos Student Film Festival” was created to take advantage of these assets and allow budding filmmakers from North County a venue to showcase their work. The event strives to create an exciting and glamorous competition that fills entrants with a sense of pride and accomplishment in their art. 2009 Festival entrant Paul Baker feels that overall the festival was “a very fun and positive experience…it was a thrill sitting with friends and watching our films on the big screen, win or lose.” Certificates of Recognition will be given to the top films in the genres of comedy, drama, action/adventure, documentary, and art/conceptual, with cash prizes of $125, $100 and $75 awarded to the top three films.
Entries will be shown on the outdoor 30ft screen at the Civic Center Plaza; an ideal setting for this venue on a beautiful summer evening. This location creates a unique departure from the traditional indoor film festival and is embraced by Mike McDonald, owner and developer of the center, as an artistic community outlet. “We created the outside stage and large screen to bring visual and live events to the mini-urban park within the Civic Center Plaza. The Student Film Festival is a great way to provide a public venue for creative students to share their work with the broader public.”
The previous festival was a modest success with 15 entries, though organizers hope to double that number this year; spokespeople are visiting local schools to get the word out. Last year’s 1st Annual San Marcos Student Film Festival was held at the Civic Center Plaza on November 21st, 2009. Winners were selected based upon execution and concept as well as professionalism, with the first 3 places in each grade category receiving trophies and cash prizes. Lia Bruce took home first place in the high school category for her film, “Il Portiere”. Jorge Marcial took home first place for college for his film, “El Boleto Ganador”. Judges Dr. Meryl Goldberg and Wayne Weiboldt each awarded a film with special recognition, Stephen Sprague’s “Letters From Within” and Christian Motos’ “Cancer Angel”, respectively.
WHEN: Saturday June 26th at 8:00pm
WHERE: Civic Center Screen, 141. N. Twin Oaks Valley Rd, San Marcos
COST: Free to the public.
WEBSITE: www.smfilmfest.com
SUBMISSIONS: Accepted until June 18th
